The Grawlix CMS

Archives

Archives are a series of links that let readers browse the comic’s pages at will.

There’s more to a comic — stories or dailies — than the latest page. When new readers want to start from the beginning, they need guides archives to peruse past events. The Grawlix CMS gives you several ways to customize that view. To be specific, you can edit archives’ behavior and layout.

Behavior

Behavior is the way that archives lead readers through markers and comic pages. Traditionally, archives show all pages and chapters on the same screen. But you can also show readers only chapters on one screen. Tapping on a chapter reveals its pages. That’s useful for readers who want to work their way through comics with hundreds of pages.

Layout

One long list? Clusters and columns? Layout determines how the links are placed on the page in list, grid or inline views.

List view

You can set both chapters and pages into list view, which is a series of links in a vertical stack. Most comics use this layout, as it lets readers quickly scan many links without their eyes darting back and forth across a screen. If you want to get technical, list view is like a series of <li> elements. In fact, that’s exactly what it is.

Grid view

Again, both chapters and pages may arrange links in distinct blocks that fit your comic’s width.

Inline

Inline view shows one link right after another, as if in a running sentence. Arguably the least readable, inline view is also the most compact. Inline view is unique to pages; chapters can not be arranged as inline links.

Links

What, exactly, to readers have to tap? Archive links are the text or graphics on which readers tap to reach a certain page. For example, they could see either “page 1” or the page’s title, such as “Bleep Goes to Camp.” If you decide dates are important, you may chose to show when the comic page was published. Or not. Your call.

Wrap up

Archives let readers browse past comic pages.

You can choose to show everything on one screen, or just markers that click through to their pages.